Well a very very long day for the squad. An early start for the meeting at Heathrow airport at 4:30am for the early morning flight to Turkey followed by the mammoth 8 hour delay for the connecting flight to Konya. Then the coach trip to the hotel. At Istanbul airport, the squad met up with many other various national teams who are also taking part in this first International Youth tournament which is coinciding with International Children's Day.

Well I'm pleased to report that they all arrived safely.

Upon arrival at the hotel, the squad all received gifts from the Konya Youth Directorate before being directed to their rooms. The squad has been treated like superstars with a warm greeting from the Turkish people and their extreme helpfulness being most welcoming.

There are a few more sports involved in these sports games with Athletics and Cycling also being added to the list of Rhythmic Gymnastics, Taekwondo, Chess, Weight Lifting and of course Karate.

The Karate tournament takes place on Thursday with Spain, Greece, Bosnia, Azerbaijan, Switzerland, Turkey and England all taking part. This is going to be like a mini Cadet European Championships!